Cotton-harvester.



- PATENTED MAR. 31, 190s;- 11. GANNAN. COTTON HARVESTER. APPLICATION FILED OCT. 1: 1901. RENEWED SEPT. 4, 1902.

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No. 723,985. PATENTED MAR 31, 1903.

v R. GANNAN. I COTTON HARVBSTBR.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 14, 1901. RENEWED SEPT. 4, 1902.

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R. GANNAN. v COTTON HARVESTER.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 14, 1901. RENEWED SEPT. 4. 1902.

7 SHEETS-SHEET 4.-

N0 MODEL.

PATENTED MAR. 31, 1903; R. GANNAN. COTTON HAHVESTER.

APPLICATION FILED 90114, 1901. RENEWED SEPT. 4. 1902.

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PATENTED MAR. 31, 1903.

R. GANNAN.

COTTON HARVESTER.

APPLICATION FILED 001214. 1901. RENEWED SEPT. 4. 1902.

7 SHEETS-SHEET 6 no MODEL.

No, 723,985' PATE'NTED MAR. 231,- 1903i.. 1

R. GANNAN. v

COTTON HARVBSTER. APPLICATION nun 001214. 1901. RENEWED-811214.19. N0 MODEL. 7 SHEETS-SHEET '1.

1 Q/vicwuoeo v I I anb a 9 z M v THE Nonms PETERS on. #NOYOJJTHQ wumunfou, DV 0 UNITED Srmri zs" "PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT CANNAN, OF BROOKLYN, YORK, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO PATRIOK KENNEDY, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

,COTTON-HARVESTEZR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters FatentNo. 723,98 5, dated March 31, 1903. Application filed OctoberM, 1901. Renewed September 4,1902, SerialNo.122,081. (NomodeL) To ail whom it may concern. for steering about a bearing in the frame and Be it known that I, ROBERT OANNAN, a citiwhich may be turned for steering by means zen of the United States, residing in the city of gear-wheels 6 and 7 and a hand-wheel 8. of New York, borough .of Brooklyn, county There is nothing especially novel in this con- 5 of Kings, and State of NewYork, have instruction.

vented certain new and useful Improvements As herein shown, the rear axle is driven in Cotton-Harvesters, of which the following for propelling the vehicle and driving the is a specification. picker-drums by a motor 9, (illustrated some- This invention relates to the class of cotwhat diagrammatically in Figs. 1 and 2,) as 10 ton harvesters or pickers which employ a any form or kind of known motor maybe em- Wheeled vehicle carrying and driving two upployed. As shown herein, the motor drives right drums armed with radially-projecting a counter-shaft 10, through gear-wheels 11 picker-stems. The drums are carried along and 12, and the rear axle is driven from the by the vehicle and rotated, and the cottonshaft 10, through sprocket-wheels 13 and 14 I5 plants in the row pass between them. and a chain 15. The driver or operator con- One of the more important features of the trols the movement through a handle 16 and present invention reside in the construction suitable intermediate mechanism, such as is and operation of the picker-stems and in the commonly employed for this purpose. means for stripping the cotton therefrom. What is described above simply provides 20 The invention will be fully described herefor the propulsion and guiding of the Vehicle,

inafter with reference to the accompanying and the means employed for. picking the cotdrawings and its novel features carefully deton 'fiber from the open bolls of the row of fined in the claims. r plants as the vehicle moves along will now be In the drawings which illustrate embodidescribed. 2 5 ments of the invention, Figure 1 is a sec- 'Under the framel of the vehicle, at asuit-' tional side elevation of the harvester. Fig. able distance apart laterally, are the picking- 2 is a plan with the body and a part of the drums, (designated each as a whole by D.) frame removed to better .disclose'the mech- These drums have their axes uprigl1t,and they anism. Fig. 3is a front elevation. Fig. 4is' are rotative in strong frames 17 under the 8o 0 a horizontal section of the drum on a rela framel. Fig.2showsperhaps most clearlythe tively large scale, andFig. 5 is a face view' mechanism for driving the drums D from theof one of the strippers. Fig. 6 is a vertical counter-shaft 10. On the latter is asprocketsection of the drum on the same scale as Fig. wheel 18, which drives a sprocket-wheel 19 4. Fig. 7 is a somewhat diagrammatical plan through a chain 20. The wheel 19 is on a cross- 8 5 view showing the two drums in the relative shaft 21 in the vehicle-frame, and it carries operative positions and the forms of the cams two bevel-wheels 22, which gear, respectively, which operate the strippers. Figs; 8, 9, and with similar wheels 23, fixed on the drums. 10 are views illustrating in detail the con- This rotary motion is imparted to the drums struction of the picker-stems, clutches, and in the direction indicated by the curved ar- 4o strippers. Figs. 11 and 12 are detached plan rows in Fig. 2 as the vehicle moves in the diviews of the radially-slotted heads of the rection indicated by the straight arrows in drum, the latter showing one-half of the upsaid figure. As the drum rotates it carries per head. I 7 about with it radially-projecing picker-stems.

1 designates in general the frame of the arranged in horizontal tiers. These stems a're 5 5 vehicle. l I provided with teeth to engage and gather the 2 designates the hind wheels, fixed on the cotton fiber about the stems, and mechanrotatively-mounted axle 3. ism is provided for imparting rotation to said 4 designates the front wheels, rotative on stems. This mechanism will now be de'- the arms of a bent axle-or, in other words, scribed with especial reference to thedetail I00 50 the axle-arms are rigidly secured by suitable views Figs. 4 and 6.

means to a fifth-wheel 5, which is rotatable Rotatively mounted in the axis of each drum D is a shaft 24, and these shafts are rotated by bevel-Wheels 25 on said shafts and on a cross-shaft 26, driven fromthe counter-shaft 10 through sprocket-wheel's 27 and 28 and a chain 29, as seen in Figs. 1 and 2. On the shaft 24 inside of the drum are secured a series of bevel-wheels 30, Fig. 6, one for each tier of picker-stems, and this wheel gears with bevel-pinions 31 on the respectivejournals of the picker-stems. In the detail views the picker-stems are each desig nated as a whole by the letter S. As the picker-stems are presented to the plants in the row they are exposed, so that their teeth may operate; but as the drum rotates a stripper is pushed out over them to strip off the accumulated cotton fiber. In Figs. 4 and 6 the operative side of the drum is at the right and the stripping side at the left. In order to make the construction of the stripping mechanism clearly understood, a description of the construction of the drum D will be required, with especial reference to Figs. 4, 6, 7, 11, and 12.

The lower head 32 and the upper head 33 of the drum D (seen detached, respectively, in Figs. 11 and 12) are connected together by an upright prismoidal body 34, the form of which is indicated in dotted lines in Figs. 11 and 12. Mounted in radial slots 35 in the heads of the drum, exterior to the body 34, are slides 36, each corresponding slide above and below being connected by an upright bar or stave segment 37. The upper and lower heads of the drum have journals which turn in bearings formed in fixed cams 38, in the grooves of which'play antifriction studs or bowls 39 on the respective slides 36. Fig. 7 shows the form of the cam-grooves and also shows how the upright segments 37 when drawn in come together edge to edge, like staves, to form a cylinder. Thejournals 40 of the respective picker-stems S have hearings in the wall of the drum-body 34, and the body 41 of the pickerstem, which is or may be oylindrical, plays through a stripper 42, which is splined on the said stem-body, so that when the body rotates it rotates the stripper also. Each stripper has a collared bearing in a segment or stave 37 and moves in and out radially with said stave when the latter is actuated by the cams. Fig. 5, which represents a face view of a stripper, shows the four radial slots 43 in it provided for the passage of the four rows of inclined teeth on the picker-stem. Fig. 8 includes several views illustrating the construction of the body 41 of the said stem. This body is a cylinder with a series of longitudinal keeper-grooves 44 in its surface to receive the strips 45, provided each with a series of teeth 46. When the strips 45 have been inserted, the cap 47 is screwed into or onto the outer end of the body. The journal 40 of the stem S is in rotation constantly; but it is rotatable in the body 41, except when the latter is clutched to it, as will be explained. In the body, Fig. 8, is a longitudinal keyway or groove 48, with which engages a key 49 on the rear or inner face of the strip per 42, as seen in Fig. 9, which is a rear View of the latter. This construction compels the stripper and the body 41 to rotate together. On the journal 40 is secured a collar 50, on which is splined a sliding clutch member 51, backed bya spring 52. This clutch member has on its outer face (seen in Fig. 9) two or more lugs 53, which when the stripper 42 is drawn in, as at the right in Fig. 6, engage corresponding lugs 54 on the inner face of the stripper, and thus drive the latter, and through it the body 41; but when the stripper moves radially outward over the body to strip off the accumulated cotton fiber from the body the clutch members are at once disengaged and the stripper and body of the picker-stem cease to rotate. The object of this construction is of course to rotate the 0perative portion of the stem only during the picking operation and to arrest such rotation during the stripping operation. The inclination of the teeth 46 outward causes the cotton thereon to be pushed off the teeth as the latter enter the slots in the conical face of the strippers.

As the cotton fiber which has accumulated on the stems of the respective drums is stripped therefrom itis taken upbyconveyers, one at each side of the vehicle, and carried up to the proper level for discharge and there freed from the conveyers. It is not new, broadly, to carry up harvested substances or fibers from one level to another by elevatingconveyers, and this is not broadly claimed; but the specific construction of the conveyor has some novel features which will now be described.

55 designates the upper cross-shaft of the conveyers, driven from the cross-shaft 26 th rough the medium of a chain 50 on suitable sprocketwheels carried by the respective shafts.

57 designates the upper pulley of the conveyer on the shaft 55, and 58 the lower pulley. Over these is the conveyer-belt 59, provided with teeth 60 to gather and carry up the cotton stripped from the picker-stems S. The rear side of the conveyer-belt moves upward with its load of cotton.

The conveyer-belt is inclosed in a strippercasing 61, and the upright portion of this casing at the operative side of the beltnamely, the side which moves upward and which is at the left in Fig. l-is in close proximity to the belt at its lower end, where it is longitudinally slotted up to a predetermined height to provide a way for the conveyorteeth, of which there may be two or more rows. Fig. 2 shows the two slots 62 in this side or face of the casing, which inclines or diverges from the conveyor-belt above, so that as the teeth move upward along the slots the casing gradually strips the cotton from through the interior of the body B will be suitably inclosed in a known manner, and the driving-belt of the conveyor will also be inclosed in a casing. This is a mere matter for an ordinary workman and will require no special description. At the lower end or foot of the conveyor there is or may be a receiver or catcher 61 (seen best in Fig. 2) to catch any cotton that may fall from the pickerstems D and not be fairly caught at first by the teeth of the conveyor.

In front of the body B and on the frame of the vehicle is a seat 3 for the driver or motorman.

Figs. 1 and 2 show gathering devices placed under the frame of the vehicle at-the front part to embrace or gather'the cotton-plants of the row and present them to the pickingdrums. Carried by the running-gears under the front of the body are two upright shields 63 63, one at each side. These turn with the fifth-wheel about the kin g-bolt when the front axle is turned for steering. Back of these plates or shields are two converging shields or plates 64, which form normally or when the vehicle is moving straight ahead continuations of the gathering shields or plates 63.

Obviously the vehicle may be drawn by horses, as in other forms of these harvesters, in which case the hind wheels of the vehicle would be made to serve as ground-wheels for driving the drums, picker-stems, and conveyers.

My construction of the picker-stems provides for conveniently changing the toothbearing strip 45, so as to change the length, form, or character of the teeth to suit circumstances, and it also provides for the removal of the bodies 41 of the lower tiers of pickerstems in the drum in case the conditions of the harvest are such that only the upper stems are required.

In Figs. 1 and 3, 65 designates diagrammatically the boiler for supplying steam to the engine 9, and 66 designates in the same manner a holder for oil, as fuel, and water of the boiler.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- 1. A cotton-harvester having an axially-rotating picker-stem provided with one or more rows of teeth, and a stripper embracing said stem and slidable longitudinally along the same, said stripper being splined on the stem' and having a radial slot or slots for the passage of the teeth on the stem in stripping.

2. A cotton-harvester having an axially-rotating picker-stem provided with one or more longitudinally extending rows of teeth, a stripper embracing said stem and rotating therewith, and means for moving :said stripper over said stem for stripping the collected cotton therefrom.

3. A cotton-harvester having a plurality of axially-rotatable picker-stems, each having a longitudinally-extending row or rows of teeth, means for rotating said stems, rotativelymounted strippers embracing the respective stems and splined thereon so as to rotate with the stems, means for operating the strippers and stems relatively to strip the cotton from the stems, andmeans for arresting the rotation of the stems during the stripping op eration.

4.. A cotton-harvester having a drum rotat= ing an an upright axis, a'plurality of radially-' extending, axially rotating picker stems mounted in said drum, strippers splined on the respective stems and slidable longitudinally thereon, upright staves in which said strippers are rotatively mounted, said staves being slidable radially in the drum, and stationary cams which operate said staves and strippers radially as the drum rotates.

5 In a cotton-harvester, the picker-stem having a body 41, grooved longitudinally to receive the tooth-bearing strips 45, the said strips, the cap 47, closing the end of the body, and the journal 40, rotative in the body 41.

6. In a cotton-harvester, the combination with the rotating journal of the picker-stem, the body of the said stem provided with longitudinal rows of teeth, said body being rotatable on the journal, the radially-slotted stripper splined on the body of the stem, and provided with a lug or lugs on its inner face, and a clutch member on and rotatable with the journal of the picker-stem, said clutch member having on its outer face alug or lugs to engage the lugs on the stripper, of means for moving said stripper to and fro along the body of the picker-stem.

7. A cotton harvester having runninggears under its front end which turn about a king-bolt in steering, two picker-drums back of the front axle and suspended from the main frame, and a gathering device consisting of two upright shields 63, mounted on the front running gears, and two converging shields 64, back of the front shields, substantially as set forth. In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name, this 11th day of October, 1901, in

the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ROBERT OANNAN.

Witnesses:

HENRY CONNETT, PETER A. Boss. 

